This Is Primetime

"Did you make me breakfast?" I asked as I wandered into the kitchen late the next morning.

Matt looked up from his bowl. "There's about twenty different kinds of cereal in the cupboard. Knock yourself out."

I slid into the empty chair next to him. "How about some coffee?"

"There's a Second Cup on the corner."

"Seriously? You don't make coffee here?"

He shrugged, returning his attention to his half-eaten Corn Pops. "Sometimes. I'm kind of lazy most mornings."

"So am I," I got to my feet and began opening cupboards at a rapid rate. "But I like coffee, and I don't want to pay out the ass to have some every morning."

"It's not that expensive. Were you always so melodramatic?"

I found a can of coffee grounds and a package of filters. I pulled them out and set them on the countertop near the coffee pot. "Always. I thought you liked that about me."

He chewed loudly on a mouthful of cereal. "How did you sleep?" He asked through his mouthful.

"Could have been better, could have been worse. This place is going to take a little bit of getting used to."

"I guess I should have assumed that. Are you spending the whole day unpacking?"

I finished preparing the coffee and turned the machine on. "Probably. Why, what's up?"

"Mike's wife really likes you. She wants the four of us to hang out later tonight. Want to take a break from the boxes and catch a movie?" Matt brushed his long hair off of his forehead.

"Sounds like a plan," I said. After a momentary pause, I raised an eyebrow at him. "They mean it as a double date, don't they?"

He chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I was waiting for you to pick up on that little detail."

I pondered the situation for a few seconds, then shrugged and began to search the cupboards for some sugar. "Either way, I think it could be fun. I really like her. What was her name again? I feel like a bitch, but I don't want to make a mistake in front of her."

"Leilani. And don't worry about offending her, Beck. She's been hanging around us long enough that she can take it."

"So what do you guys normally do when you're not on tour? Don't you ever get sick of each other and spend some time apart?"

Matt slurped loudly on the last remnants of milk in his bowl. "Not really. Sure, we spend a bit of time apart, but not because we need a break. It's just because we want to spend a bit of time with our families and our other friends before we head back out again."

I tried to wrap my head around his logic. "Guys are so much different than girls. If I had to spend twenty-four hours a day with Markie for a few weeks, we would both be ready to kill each other."

He got up from the table and set his empty dish in the sink. "Yeah, but that's not going to be the case with me, is it?"

I shrugged as I pulled a bag of sugar from another cupboard. "Not for the first little while. I still have too much to learn about you guys before I can hate you."

"You couldn't hate me if you tried," he smirked, reaching past me for a mug.

"You're probably right," I admitted. I poured myself a cup of the freshly brewed coffee and headed back down the hall. "Give me an hour of notice before we have to leave so that I can get ready. I'm going to go start unpacking."

As soon as I shut the door to my room, I dug out a few CDs and turned on my stereo. It would go faster if I had some music to sing along to. Without really paying attention to which CDs I had grabbed, I hit the play button. The first disc was Marianas Trench. Needless to say, I loved the EP. The more times I listened to Push, the more convinced I became that it was inspired by the way our relationship ended. Of course, I'd pretty much had that confirmed when he said that it was for me at the concert.

I called Markie while I worked; I was dying to tell her about the previous night. As I had assumed, she was just as eager to hear about it. I pinned the phone between my shoulder and my ear as I pulled some clothes from my suitcase and hung them up in the closet.

"What's she like?"

I didn't have to ask to know that she was referring to Stacey. "She's nice. She doesn't talk much though, so I haven't found anything wrong with her."

"And what about Matt? How are things moving along on that front?"

"Stop it, Markie," I sighed, feeling suddenly exasperated. I was never going to escape from these accusations. It felt like my life was quickly becoming one long conversation about where Matt and I stood romantically. "He's my best friend. Besides, he had a lot of girls interested in him last night."

"And you're just going to step aside and let them take him? In all fairness, I think you have first dibs here," she reasoned.

"As long as he makes time for me every now and then, things will be fine if he has a girlfriend. Even if she could pass for a supermodel," I added the last part with an unexpected surge of bitterness.

"Is someone a bit envious?" Markie asked gleefully.

"No. I just think that he could do better. Looks aren't everything. They're probably dumber than posts, too." I grumbled, hanging up a thick hoodie.

"It's possible. Becky, if you're just going to get jealous everytime another girl gets close to him, don't you think that could be a sign?"

"Oh shut up," I said, the words coming out a lot more harshly than I'd meant for them to be.

"Hey, don't take it out on me just because you can't admit something to yourself that's crystal clear to the rest of us. I'd bet money on it that even Josh thinks that."

"Josh is the only one that hasn't said anything, actually," I told her. "I don't think he ever will."

"Fine," she didn't sound like she was giving in. "Live in denial. See if I care. When can I come to visit?"

I laughed. "As soon as you can afford it. Because I sure as hell can't pay to bring you out here."

"I'll start saving right now. Well, maybe after we bring in the summer clothes at work."

"I'll talk to you soon, Markie. I need to hurry up and get my clothes unpacked so I can find something to wear tonight."

"Big date? With which boy?" She grilled me.

"I'm going to a movie with Matt, Mike, and Mike's wife."

"Oh," she sounded a bit let down. "So it's a group date. Have fun, I guess."

I hung up the phone and got down to business. This was easily my favourite part about moving. I really enjoyed finding a new place for everything. I had just finished hanging up my last pair of jeans when there was a knock at my door.

"Come in, Matt."

"How did you know it was me?" He cocked his head to one side as he walked in.

"I don't know. I just figured that, of all of my roommates, you would be the first one to come and talk to me."

He nodded. "Makes sense. How are things coming in here?"

I looked around at the unopened boxes. "I've got a bit of work ahead of me."

"You're sure taking you sweet time, aren't you? You've been in here for three hours already. I was starting to think you were having a nap or something." He began looking around at the changes I'd made to the room since the night before. "I guess you're just really, really slow."

"I was on the phone for a solid hour with Markie. That girl can talk your ear off."

"I believe it," he laughed. "It's so weird to have someone else here. In a good way," he added hurriedly. "I'm just not used to actually wanting to hang out at home. Usually I find someone to hang out with just about every day because it's too quiet here. I mean, I have days where I just like to stay here and be alone, especially right after a tour, but overall I like to have someone else around. Maybe I'll stay home a lot more now that you're here."

"You won't get any alone time at all anymore. I'm a needy bitch."

Matt's laughter was so loud that it made me jump in momentary fright. My reaction only made the situation funnier to him. "Holy shit, no way!" He yelled suddenly, getting sidetracked as he raced over to my bed. "You still have this?" He held up the stuffed black and white bear.

"Sure I do. Do you still have yours?"

He laughed. "No. I got rid of that a long time ago. I won it myself, remember? Maybe if you'd won it for me, it would have meant a little bit more than just some carnival prize."

I smiled. "Do they still have that thing here every year? Maybe I can win you something in a few months."

"You'd better. I'll come back when you need to get ready," he promised before leaving again, still laughing quietly to himself.

I was almost through most of the boxes when Matt returned a few hours later. I got ready in a rush, hoping that nobody would mind if I didn't look my best. We met Mike and Leilani at a fairly nice restaurant, where we got to know each other a little bit better.

"So where do you work?" Leilani asked me. She was a gorgeous woman with long black hair that she'd curled loosely for the night. Her dark eyes were accented with a light coating of golden shadow.

"I just got here yesterday. I don't have a job yet."

"I'm a manager at a restaurant near here. We have an opening for a waitress. The job is practically yours if you want it," she offered.

I couldn't get over how nice everyone was to me. "Really? That would be fantastic. Thank you so much!"

She waved me off. "Don't mention it. Just swing by tomorrow at around three. I'll be working then, so as long as you bring in a resume and I have proof that you were there, the owners won't question my decision to hire you. You can bring her, right Matt? You already know where it is, so that would save the poor girl a lot of time."

"Of course I'll bring her. I'm a little nervous about the two of you becoming such good friends, though." Matt's eyes flickered between the two of us suspiciously.

"You and me both," Mike took a drink of his beverage. "They're going to tell each other everything about us, Matt."

"You sound like you've got something to hide," I joked.

"I'll tell you all of Mike's secrets," Leilani grinned.

"I don't know many of Matt's current secrets, but I can tell you a lot of good stuff from high school," I smirked back.

Matt scowled at us as he dug out his wallet and put some cash out on top of the bill. "We'd better get going if we're going to make that movie. You guys can tell your evil little stories tomorrow."

Leilani and I didn't get many opportunities to talk for the rest of the evening, aside from a few comments here and there during the movie. Matt and I spent the better part of the film whispering and giggling, adding our own opinions to every scene. We said our goodbyes to Mike and Leilani outside of the theatre, and Matt drove us home.

"Can I walk you to your door?" He offered, laughing a bit at his own joke.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea. I forgot to tell you, I already live with a guy. He might not like it if you came inside," I continued with his charade, pressing my lips together to fight back a smile.

"I'm sure I can take him."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," I said as I climbed out of the truck.

We continued to chat about the high points of the movie as we walked upstairs and came up to the apartment. When we reached the door, I flipped my hair dramatically over my shoulder.

"Thanks for walking me here," I used my best seductive tone. "I'm pretty sure I can make it to my bed alone, though. But we can do this again sometime if you want."

Matt pursed his lips, pretending to think hard. "I guess I have your number already, so I'll call you."

I unlocked the door and let myself in. "Be sure that you do," I smirked as I shut the door in his face.

Matt opened the door and walked inside, laughing at me. "Very nice."

"I try."

"Sleep tight, Beck."

I couldn't suppress the soft smile that was spreading across my lips. "You too, Matt." I hurried off to my bedroom, feeling happier than I had in far too long.